Lost Without You
by PolarBearBaby
Summary: Just a few chapters of random scenes taking place over the ten month prison sentence between What I Love Most and House of the Rising Son. Just some fun, fluffy and dramatic scenes to explain some of the changes between stories.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all. This is just two chapters consisting of a bunch of short scenes, some fluffy and some dramatic! I'll post the rest on Friday. This all takes place over the time Jax, Juice, Chibs and Tig spent in Sacramento County Jail! Enjoy! Consider it a Thanksgiving treat for those of you who celebrate! xoxo**

**Week 1 of 40**

Being in Juice's bedroom broke Amelia's heart but at least his scent wafting around her helped soothe the pain of his absence. She'd never even actually spent the night with him in that bed. Their sleepovers were either forced and for protection or impromptu and usually only consisted of curling up on the couch. At first, she wasn't going to take the master bedroom but his excuse the last time she'd slept there was no excuse but an actual reason, his guest room was filled with just random stuff. A few boxes of wires, old monitors and hard drives, piles of clothing that covered every inch of the bed that didn't even have a set of sheets on it was enough of a reason for her to take Juice's bed with little guilt.

Amelia had tried her very hardest not to snoop but it was truly impossible although she kept it fairly innocent. His medicine cabinet was the first place she looked, a few tightly rolled joints sat in an orange prescription bottle but that was no surprise. Helping herself to one, she burned the edge before taking the first long drag. She had smoked her fair share of marijuana before but this was strong, pure and incredible.

"Shit," she coughed a few times. "There might not be any left for you, JC." Leaving his bedroom alone out of respect, she casually looked around his home, through the fridge and kitchen drawers. Everything was clean, the walls were lacking pictures or any personal touches and Amelia could feel he was lonely even when surrounded by the club. Sitting at his desk she typed in his password and was far from surprised to see his plain black background, she'd have to change that.

Heading back up, the joint doing its job of calming her, she tapped it out carefully to preserve what was left and squeezed the burnt end between her fingers to be sure it was out before putting it away. She crawled into bed and buried her face in his pillow as tears filled her eyes. It was awful, him being locked up, she hated missing him but it provided Amelia with a buffer to work through her own thoughts. Jail was the needed physical space that was impossible to gain due to their intense draw, now she had little distractions. Amelia cuddled close to his pillows and swore she'd work hard to be ready by the time he got out; it wouldn't be so easy though.

Her phone rang, it was late and it caused a panic. She had no friends and Mae wouldn't call so late, instantly she feared the worst. "Hello?" She didn't recognize the number.

"My Amelia!" Her mother's raspy voice crackled through the phone. "Baby, I need you."

"What?" Amelia's sniffles did not go unnoticed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not dying, if that's what you mean. I'm in Tahoe, I heard about your dad. Why don't you come visit for a weekend?"

Amelia was quiet, thinking her decision over in her head. She didn't really want to go but there was a part of her that did, no matter how her mother hurt, her Amelia knew it was the same as with Tig, their awful ways of dealing with things.

"Mom," Amelia sighed. She'd go because no matter what she loved her mother. "Can you wait, maybe till morning at least?"

"Are you upset about your father?"

Rolling around in the sheets Amelia wished it was simply Tig. "No, just a boy." It sounded ridiculous, Juice wasn't just a boy and Amelia was a grown woman but she handled her feelings like a teenager. Truthfully, she'd never had anything as simple and healthy as she did with Juice, it was totally foreign. "Not like the last, he's a Son and he's locked up with Dad."

"Oh I know your head is fucked after the rape and that nasty husband of yours." Blunt, always so but as an adult Amelia appreciated it more. "You gotta tell him." Exhaling a huge puff of cigarette smoke her mother coughed violently. "You'll ruin it, like I always did. Just tell him, but not until after you come visit me."

She tried, that meant a lot and surprisingly for once, the motherly advice was actually the best thing Amelia could do with a Juice. "Okay," Amelia groaned. "I'll leave in the morning."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 6 of 40<strong>

"So you just left?" Unser was much more concerned with Gemma's quick decision to leave Clay than anyone else in Charming. "I know things ain't perfect but fairy tales ain't real life, Gem."

"I'm not looking for a goddamn fairy tale, Wayne." Haphazardly she tossed his things from the jewelry box into a fabric bag. It was just a few rings and a chain or two but she wanted it all out. "It's between me and Clay," she eyed him over her glasses. "Don't get too involved."

Looking away, his shoulders slumped, Unser nodded. Anyone else he would have pressed but not Gemma, not about this at least. If only he knew, even just half, of what Clay had done or had been suspected of doing he would have moved Clay's things himself.

"Maybe I should go talk to him, man to man."

"No," Gemma snapped back. "Leave it, Wayne."

"What about you?" He asked, skeptical of how serious she could be. "You're just going to give it all up? Say goodbye to Charming, the club, being the _Queen_?"

Spinning around, her hair whipping with force Gemma glared at Wayne, he could feel her rage pulsating between them. "Charming is my home, those are still my boys and I will always be the queen of that club and this town. Don't you ever forget that."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 9 of 40<strong>

"So school, huh?" Gemma asked skeptically as she joined Amelia at the bar, each with a mug of coffee.

Uncomfortable with the question despite growing closer to her Amelia nodded with uncertainty. "Yeah, I wanted to go, before everything fell apart so now that I'm getting things together I think it would be good for me. Maybe I'll even make some friends?"

"You have friends," she motioned around the clubhouse. "Outsiders are overrated, you know that."

"Well, friends or not, I want to, so I'm starting next semester." The spoon tapped the ceramic lightly as she aimlessly stirred her coffee.

"And what about this little newspaper job, how's that going to work with classes?"

"I don't know yet. I mean, I have zero credit, I'll never get a loan without a cosigner and my dad has shitty credit. I need to work to pay for school. Why? What's got you so interested in my academic and professional life?"

Gemma pursed her lips, "I looked after you for a while when you were younger. I taught you a lot."

"Yeah, well that last year wasn't one of your shining achievements, Gem."

"Maybe not but I did what I thought was right, considering my lack of information. Past is the past, anyway. I think I have the perfect job for you, they even have a tuition reimbursement program."

Skeptically, Amelia turned her body toward Gemma. "Yeah, thanks but I don't think I want to get involved in anything, _like that_. I want to just live above board, you know?"

"I know you want to separate from the club, right? It's impossible, baby, between your dad and Juice you can't live like that. You want to be with him?"

"Yeah, I do. I just need to through my issues and move slow but I really do."

"Then there's no choice, you gotta be in it, like I taught you."

Amelia began to laugh, astonished. "You were grooming me back then, weren't you? Preparing me to be an old lady?"

"Good thing I did, if this is you with guidance I can't imagine the mess you'd be without."

"You know what, I'm good. I can figure it out."

"I want you to take over the TM office for me, bills, appointments, payrolls. With babysitting the boys and everything else going on, I don't have the time or the patience."

"Really?" Amelia was honored by the offer but still unsure. Being on the lot, every day, with all those men especially her dad wasn't something she thought she wanted. "I'm not sure." It piqued something in her though, there was a time when Gemma was her idol and all she wanted was to be an old lady and help the club.

"You can do homework there, take days off whenever you want, make your own hours. TM will pay your tuition, work study." She winked, it was cushy and Gemma had needed the freedom to balance between model Charming citizen with fundraisers and a grandmother.

"I don't want you paying my tuition." Amelia laughed, highly amused by the idea of it.

"Well, think of that as a bonus. There is something I was hoping to add to your work load."

Amelia groaned and rolled her eyes. "Here's the catch, go on then, tell me."

"The coke money," she whispered conspiratorially. "That is a lot of cash for the club and the guys. It's gotta be washed and added to the TM checks, at least some of it. What good is money they can't spend? You can't pay a mortgage or buy a car with fifties, Amelia."

"You want me to launder the cartel money? You are out of your goddamn mind, Gemma. I'd go to jail."

Untouched by her passionate refusal Gemma shook her head. "Like your dad? Like Juice, Jax and Chibs? They do what they have to for their family. Just like Tig taking a shot and Juice putting that bullet in your husband's chest, Amelia. They did that for you."

"I know they did," she said crushed by guilt.

"Are you proud of your family, proud of being a Trager? Do you love the club?"

"Of course I do." It was an obvious answer; Amelia hung out at the clubhouse often and supported SAMCRO openly. She loved her family and realized in running away and coming back how much so.

"Well, this is how you show it. It's in your blood. You can't patch but you can do this. Tig'll be proud to come home to see you owning your place."

"Okay." Amelia smiled and it agreed with more conviction than either of them expected. "I'll do it."

* * *

><p><strong>Week 12 of 40<strong>

Tara sat in the glider as Abel slept peacefully under the soft glow of his nightlight. She could feel tears stinging her eyes as she pressed her hand firmly on her stomach. They were having another son, another innocent child was going to be thrust into the violent life Abel and even Jax had been. "My boys," she whispered, slowly rocking back and forth. "I'll do whatever I have to."

Sitting in his room was the only way for Tara to unwind enough to even attempt sleep. Slipping under the top sheet she glanced quickly at her phone to see a voicemail, her heart dropped. At that time of night she feared it could only mean one thing.

"_Babe_," Jax's hushed voice filled her ears and suddenly she could breathe again. "_I borrowed a burner, I know it's late, I'm sorry_." He was silent, thinking over what to say in the limited time but Tara was sure he'd been caught and was trying to hide the stupid phone. "_I love you, Tara. Take care of our boys, please_."

The messaged ended abruptly and Tara was aching as she held in her sobs, listening to the message again and again. Burying her face in the pillow, she let out a sorrowful wail, truly breaking down for the first time. Ten months was nothing, she wasn't sure if she could do it again for an even longer period of time. All she knew she could do was what Jax asked, care for Abel and the soon-to-be born Thomas and she'd do it but not for their father but for them.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 15 of 40<strong>

"It's actually kind of easy," Amelia looked up at Gem to be sure she wasn't just getting it all wrong. "Right? Or am I missing the hard part and doing this wrong for a month?"

"No sweetheart, it's easy the hard part is not getting caught or opening your mouth." She winked, to soften the joke but Amelia was petrified by it. "Relax, you're fine. I have to go, its Chibs' and Jax's visitation day. You'll be okay?"

Looking up from her work, the color had drained from Amelia's face. "No, Juice and Jax have Monday and Thursday, Dad and Chibs have Wednesday and Friday, right?" The girls never went on Saturdays, the wait was hours and the time spent with the guys was limited, they stuck to the individual weekday schedule. She had just seen Juice the day before, but he hadn't said anything about a switch.

"I know," Gemma forced a smile. "I guess something got switched up? It's only this one time though; it'll go back next week. Didn't Lowen call you?"

"No, she didn't." Amelia's chin jutted out as the usual feelings of exclusion and self-doubt began to resurface. "Guess she forgot."

"It's better for you this way," Gemma said in hopes of cheering the girl up. "It's less time driving up there on different days. You can even see them both twice this week instead of once."

With a fleeting kiss on the cheek and a wink, Gemma rushed out. They all made efforts to visit each of the guys but Chibs didn't have any family or an old lady to go each week so Gemma made it a point to visit him as often as possible.

As soon as she was alone, Amelia clicked on the iPod dock she'd borrowed from Juice's house and filled the lonely little office with something to cheer her up. It hardly worked, she kept skipping songs that made her think of Juice, mostly sappy love songs and her dad came to mind whenever the shuffle landed on his favorite band.

"Jesus, really?" Giving up she simply chose an artist, Brand New, and sent about her business laundering money for the club. Nothing about it seemed odd; she had been breed for such illegal tasks it seemed.

"Mama Gem?" Dawn burst into the office with a deep, exaggerated frown until she saw Amelia at the desk, then her lips turned into a devilish grin. "Hmm, if it isn't precious little Amelia. What the hell are you doing here?"

Dropping her pen Amelia turned her eyes up to glare at Dawn. It was a shame, Fawn was never really an issue but the problem child was always the one to come nosing around and causing turmoil. "I live here, I work here. Really, I think the question is what are you doing here?"

"I heard Daddy got locked up. I'm visiting him, helping out and all."

"Helping out? You mean looking for a way to drain his cash by saying you'll pay his bills?" With a disgusted scoff, she turned back to her work. "I've got his affairs handled, it's all good. Come back later and try to scam him, don't twist his unfortunate shit to use him."

"You're a self-righteous bitch." Dawn snapped. "Like you came home just to come home? You used Daddy to fix your problem too; at least mine don't involve murder. I never got Daddy shot."

Sure, Amelia knew she wasn't perfect and yes, her original reason for coming home certainly had to do with Tig saving the day but she'd also wanted to reform. Staying while he was locked up, taking care of his personal affairs and jumping in at TM was her repayment, her doing her part. The rage came not from the truth of her faults she already accepted but having it rubbed in her face.

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get out, Dawn."

"So you can cry in private?" She sneered. "This shit won't last, you'll screw up. You're a Trager; fucks up are our M.O. Stop acting so high and goddamn mighty. I'm visiting Daddy tomorrow with Fawn; he put us on the list so maybe you should just sit this one out."

When Dawn left Amelia felt the rage subside only to be replaced by sadness. Tig switched his days so Dawn and Fawn could visit him but he never told her. In her mind, she knew he loved them all the same, or at least she told herself he did, but it was impossible not to feel differently. Mae came strutting into the office, her eyes locked on the back of Dawn's head as she chatted with Chucky, her hands were all over his baldhead and although Mae was sure he loved it, it was disturbing to watch.

"Who in the hell is that?"

"Half-sister," Amelia sniffled. "Doesn't matter so don't ask. What's up?"

Mae pulled a face and shrugged, "Just saying hi. Dropping off some paperwork for Ope, can I leave it with you?"

"Adoption stuff?"

"Yep, that's it."

Taking the manila folder from Mae, she nodded. "As soon as he gets back I'll give it to him. What, is Lowen coming by today? That why you're dropping it off?"

"Ope needs to sign the last two pages too, make sure he doesn't forget." Mae eyed Amelia; she couldn't tear herself away from Dawn. "Don't worry about her. Whatever your shit is with her, you're doing right by yourself and your family."


	2. Chapter 2

**Week 17 of 40**

"Teller, Ortiz," the guard shouted from the entrance to the yard. "You have visitors!"

"How shitty would be it be if we got up there and it was fucking Bobby and Happy?" Juice always became overly chatty and hyped up as soon as they got called out for visitation. He hated county, no matter how lucky they were for the deal, he hated every second of it. He was with Jax and the others and that helped but just being locked away nagged at him, the isolation was driving him mad.

"Better than nobody," Jax countered. "But yeah, I'd rather see Tara than any of those assholes," he laughed as they reentered the jail. At the same time Jax and Juice were being brought through from the yard to the visitation room, Amelia and Tara were being patted down. It was uncomfortable and annoying but both girls tried to look at the brighter side rather than the violations they endured to visit the guys.

"Hey." Jax said with an grin and a wink as he was escorted past Amelia toward Tara. Before he sat, he pressed a lingering kiss on her lips only stopped by the sound of the guard's baton on the cement.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked, her cheeks rosy from excitement as much as her daily distress and worry for Jax's safety.

"I'm good," he pulled off his prison issued beanie and scratched at his much longer locks. If anyone asked he wouldn't have an answer as to why he wore it but he did, upon release he'd ditch the look though. "How about you?" He glanced at her stomach, "You look great."

Tara beamed, her hand immediately rubbing her stomach. "I feel good, I just - "

"Don't," he stopped her. "Please don't say it, Tara. I'll be home soon."

Amelia watched them from the corner of her eye, it was a beautiful little meeting but the tragedy was evident. She smiled sadly, waiting for Juice to be escorted to the table. This was what she hated, being without him in the room of much worse, more brutal men. "Hi," she whispered as he sat down across from her.

"What's wrong?" He asked before even greeting her.

"Well, aside from our location, nothing. What is this?" He wanted to reach out and touch his weak attempt at facial hair but know anymore than handholding was frowned upon. "You look like a twelve year old boy."

"I'll shave it then, my hair too." He challenged her.

Backpedaling, Amelia shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far, just give it some time to get thicker."

"That's what I thought." His hands were rougher than usual as his thumb slowly moved along the back of her hand. "I'm just enough of a man for you."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Are you doing okay, JC? I think about you in here, I can't imagine how difficult it is."

Juice shrugged and looked around, not wanting his eyes to betray him. No man was typically made for prison but especially Juice, he was just lucky he had Jax, Chibs and Tig around with him. Had he been alone, it would have a much different ending. "I'm all good, we're fine."

"My dad? He gets nutty when he's incarcerated."

"Yeah, I'm seeing that, we're all good."

The couples continued to chat, longing for more physical contact and even just time alone. The girls felt years sting their eye at the five minute warning. At least that meant they could really have a moment, even if it was a show for the other inmates, where they could actually have a meaningful kiss and a hug they'd carry with them everyday until Jax and Juice came home.

* * *

><p><strong>Week 19 of 40<strong>

"Did you guys have fun?" Mae craned her neck to look at Kenny and Ellie in the backseat to see them mod enthusiastically. It was always hilarious to see Opie driving her little sedan but it was the closest thing they had to a family vehicle and the kids were more comfortable in it. They had spent the day at the zoo in LA, a bonding trip for the family before sitting the kids down about the adoption. It was much less for buttering them up and more for simply enjoying time together as a family, something Opie neglected for years before getting his head straight as a man and a parent. In regards to the adoption, to Opie, their feelings were easily trumped by the very real danger that his children could end up in the system or with Mary and he wasn't sure what was really worse. Mae, even though she experienced those horrors firsthand, still wanted to discuss it with them and give the children options.

"Which was your favorite animal?" Using the mirror to enjoy the beaming smiles on the kids' faces Opie drove toward Hanna's.

Ellie thought on the question while Kenny immediately shouted his answer. "The lions were so cool!"

"I liked the polar bears," Mae said with a smile. "They remind me of your dad."

"Me too," Ellie agreed.

"Thanks," Opie groaned as he backed into a parking spot. "My girls think I'm a goddamn bear."

"You are," Mae winked. "Big and strong."

"And mean!" Ellie added with a giggle.

They sat and all ordered their usual, the family was settled in their ways and although routine was frowned upon in Opie's line of work they had theirs for sure. Opie waited until their waitress, the chatty older woman who just loves to fawn over the Sons, had left to bring up the conversation.

"You know how your uncles were away for a while?" They kids nodded with never serious expressions. "And I know you were little but you remember when I went away?" Again, they nodded. "Well if that ever happened again you guys would want to stay with Mae right?" He could see them start to panic. "I'm not going anywhere; I'm just asking about if I couldn't be around. If that happened, would you want Mae to take care of you?"

"Yeah," Ellie said with puffy cheeks. "But we don't want you to go."

"He's not," Mae interrupted. They hadn't planned what they'd say but he chose the worst possible opening line. "You guys know I'm not your mom, your mom isn't here anymore but sometimes when moms or dads...well when they go to heaven, they need people here to help take care of their kids."

"Like you?" Ellie asked while Kenny sat back with an annoyed, exasperated expression.

"Exactly," Mae smiled, some of her fears dissipating with Ellie's understanding. "Do you know what adoption is?"

"No," Kenny said quickly. "You can't be our mom, you said you're not, you can't be."

"Hey," Opie barked. "Don't be disrespectful, Kenny." He slunk down with a fat, pouty lower lip. "Mae isn't trying to replace your mom, but I want her to adopt you two. You don't have to call her mom but guys, it's safer."

"This won't change anything but if something happened, like when Ellie fell and had to get stitches, if I adopt you I could go back and be there or if Dad had to go away again it would guarantee you'd stay with me. I'd be your mom but only on paper, this," she twirled her finger in the air between the four of them, "will be the same."

"I'm not calling you mom," Kenny snapped.

"I want you to call me whatever you want and if you don't want this - "

"You'll have to get over it." Opie interrupted in a harsh tone.

"Harry," Mae, chided him. "Your mom will always be your mom but I'm just helping her out, taking care of you guys for her."

"Okay," Ellie's tiny little voice was a welcomed sound to both Mae and Opie. Shocked, but absolutely thrilled, Mae took the girl's hand in hers.

"That means so much, you two are so important to me."

Seeing the attention, Kenny softened ever so slightly. "I'm still not calling you mom but if you want to, you can like, adopt us."

"You can call me whatever you like, Kenny. I'm just glad you both agreed."

"Cause if you didn't," Opie started as their dinners were set out on the table. "It wouldn't matter, now eat."

Opie and Mae glanced at each other with bright, excited eyes. It seemed trivial; a piece of paper stating it but the adoption along with their legal marriage meant the world to them, even though Opie would never admit it. He would maintain the legality meant nothing but there was a small part of him that enjoyed things with his family being legitimate, but if asked he'd be hard pressed to explain why.

**Week 21 of 40**

Mae's kitten heels clicked through the parking garage at Saint Thomas as she hustled to her car. Slamming the door and locking it for good measure her slender fingers gripped the wheel tight a bereft sob racked through her body. She had just grinned and cooed her way through an unexpectedly painful visit with Tara the newest addition to the Teller family, Thomas. It would be hard, she was sure but Mae was unprepared for the deep burning jealousy and all-consuming sorrow that hit her the moment she laid eyes on the wrinkled, bald and absolutely beautiful baby boy. Every day Mae thought about her and Opie's baby and even though it was too early to tell, Mae knew in her heart that the baby was girl. Would she have had Opie's deep green eyes and Mae's dark hair or the reverse? Maybe the poor child would have been afflicted with Mae's crooked teeth that even Invisalign couldn't entirely straighten; her two bottom front teeth still weren't perfect.

As she continued to cry, her pained sobs echoing off the car door only upsetting more, Mae began to grow angry. It wasn't fair; she wanted her baby and said it aloud as she placed her hands on her stomach. "I'm sorry baby girl." She whispered. Knowing it wasn't her fault couldn't rid Mae of the guilt over what had happened. Over the months since the accident, she felt pangs with every baby she saw and every perfectly round pregnancy stomach but it felt ridiculous, she couldn't share that pain with anyone. They'd think it was ludicrous, wouldn't they? It was so early in her pregnancy, that was what Mae was sure they'd be thinking or the dreaded 'It wasn't even a baby'. To her and Ope, she was a baby and she was their baby but not many people understood.

After the miscarriage, she was desperate for a child, then the desperation turned to fear and when Stahl entered the picture she was sure that a baby could never happen for them, it was simply far too dangerous. In that moment though, as she silently sobbed to herself, Mae was sure she wanted a child of her own. She wasn't sure if it would be selfish to bring a life into the world they lived but she vowed to protect that child with every part of her, nothing would ever happen to their baby.

Wiping her tears on her sleeve Mae sped out of the garage and back to the house. She and Opie had the painful conversation about waiting to have a child, at least until the guys were out but she didn't want to wait any longer. There were so many tiny aspects, flittering little thoughts that she didn't realize were coloring her decision. If anything happened, God forbid, she'd want that part of Opie with her forever, that part she and him had made so perfectly was certainly something floating around in her subconscious.

"Ope," she called out the moment she walked into the house. "Honey?" She had seen his bike in the drive and found him in the yard with the half-completed deck he and Kenny had been working on. Opie was leaned over the workbench, sawing a large hunk of word when she finally caught his attention.

"What happened?" Without a thought, Opie dropped the saw and gathered a clearly distraught Mae up in his arms. "Are you okay?"

She nodded with a smile and cried into his already damp shirt. The choice made her happy, excited for the future but she still cried over their loss. "Seeing Thomas," she whimpered. "It was hard but I'm ready. I want to have a baby, Ope."

"Are you sure?" He asked tilting her chin up to look her in the eyes. "I want you to be sure, Mae." The thought excited him, Opie wanted to add to their family and he wanted to add to it with Mae. When she had told him she wanted to wait it crushed him, he didn't understand but now it didn't matter.

"I'm sure, I'm ready and I want this."

**Week 28 of 40**

"Hey man," Juice sat beside Tig during dinner. He was hoping to maybe talk, maybe see if their mutual affection for Amelia could build a bit more of a friendship than they already had. "What's up?"

"What's up?" He scoffed angrily. "We're locked up, nothing's up."

"See Meely today?"

Knowing she was in the building was such a tease for Juice. He and Tig were on opposite visitation days and while it was nice to have his own separate time with her but he wished he could see her when she was there for Tig as well. Tig just nodded, he didn't really want to talk about it.

"She okay?" Juice pushed on with the questioning.

Tig laughed and shook his head. "No, she'll never be okay; I cursed her once with biology and again by being a shitty dad."

"Well she's back," he was trying to be optimistic. "You can work on it at least she's visiting too, that's good. She really can't hate you if she's taking the ride up here twice a week."

Tig glared hatefully at Juice. "She comes up here to try and make me love her; she thinks I hate her, cause of the shit that happened."

This was far from what Juice expected; it was surreal to hear Tig saying anything more than some cruel insult. Something had bothered him; Amelia must have said something during the visit to shake him. "Did you tell her that?"

"Doesn't matter," he spat. "What are you doing you pussy? This some fairy ass attempt to bond?"

With a nonchalant shrug, Juice turned to his less than appetizing meal. He had gone on a fool's errand but he wanted to try, the only question was why. Tig really didn't hold the key to Amelia, his approval wasn't needed but Juice felt the urge to try.

"Just passing the time."

"Find another way," Tig grumbled, quickly losing his appetite, and left the cafeteria on the way to his cell. They were lucky county was less strict it he'd have been stuck there with them for the whole meal.

"You should leave it," Chibs warned. "He's an asshole anyway, no need to punish yourself."

He wasn't the one being punished though. Juice opened his mouth to speak before the room erupted with shouts of joy over a budding fight in the hall. The inmates closest to the doorway wee able to see while the men deeper in the cafeteria were stuck listening for fear of guard retribution or mistaking their eagerness for entertainment as a threat it even a riot.

"We always miss the good shit," Jax whined. "Goddamn it that better not be Tig."

"Odds?" Juice asked, his food chilling quickly as they spoke.

"High," Chibs remarked as the crowd died down and two prisoners, one most certainly Tig, we're led away. "Stupid shite."

They could feel heavy eyes on their table; each man held their head high but squirmed internally. Galindo had reach and strength but without knowing who Tig went off on made Chibs, Jax and Juice uneasy, the cartel wasn't the most powerful group around and SAMCRO had enemies already.

"Let's keep close," Jax muttered as he waited for the signal that they could leave. After a disturbance there was a period where no one could move, it was torture, he didn't like being so out in the open after what had just gone down.

**Week 32 of 40**

The boys preferred baseball. The rack of bats in the clubhouse served dual purposes, they loved a good game when time allowed but more often than not, they used the bats for a more violent purpose. Jax sank the last shot to win the game and Juice groaned making his over to Chibs.

"Juicy, you're down to one!" He laughed as Juice lit the last of his cigarettes. "And now you have none, better start begging."

"Or sucking," Jax joked, offering Juice another cigarette. "Next time play Chibs, boys gettin' old and easy to beat."

"Oh aye? Let's go now, Teller."

As Chibs tossed the basketball at Jax, two prisoners came stalking over toward the trio. Tig wasn't there, he was in solitary and so his brothers would take the brunt of his punishment. Juice caught them first and whistled to Jax, they took careful steps back with open palms.

"We're not looking for trouble," Jax said quietly. "We also got protection, guys you don't want to mess with." The words of warning only amused the men as the larger of the two swung, his fist connecting with Chibs' jaw and the opposite elbow breaking Jax's nose with one blow.

"Hey!" Juice hollered, charging to protect his guys but the second man, swift and sneaky, ghosted behind him and with two quick thrusts sliced through Juice's flesh and into his side.

"Juicy!" Chibs caught his young friend as Jax called out for a guard.

"We need help!" Jax shouted again. The crowd of onlookers dropped to their bellies, as did the Sons, as guards stormed the yard.

They knew it was retaliation, Tig's temper weeks before had caused this but it was a visceral and violent reaction he couldn't condemn. It was, technically, an innocent verbal jab but any mention of his daughters, hypothetical or not, sent him into a blind, unbridled rage. The only real surprise was that it had taken so long to go down.

Carefully Juice was carted off, leaving Jax and Chibs alone surrounded by guards, their attacks mixed back into the crowd just as easily as they had filtered out. "Jackie," Chibs groaned as they looked upon from the ground to the guards. "Someone needs to make a call, aye? We're down to two."


End file.
